Darkness
by Leonheart Zero
Summary: Yoh decides to call on some old friends when a stranger he finds lying unconscious outside their gate tells them an even stranger story...
1. Chapter 1

Shaman King: Darkness

Prologue

Night falls once more over the desert surrounding Patch Village, bringing with it a silence that comes so often with darkness. The village itself was just as quiet, and no sound could be heard, but the blow of the wind. But on the edge of the desert, on a range of high cliffs, there was definitely a commotion. The wind suddenly blew stronger, blowing sand into the air, and then a clang of metal and the sound of rocks tumbling soon came.

When the dust cleared, two figures stood on opposite ends of the cliff. One of them, a boy, then started to speak, "You think I get beaten that easily?" He said.

The boy was dark skinned and had curly hair, which he wore in an Afro. He had thick lips and wore a shirt with long zigzagging lines running around it. But noticeable among all were the sharp, black markings on his face, and long, metallic claws covering his right hand, emitting a bright gold aura.

The other figure, a young man just a year older than the boy, replied, "I don't think so, I know so." He had slightly long brown hair and blue eyes. He wore a long, black cloak that covered most of his body.

"Let's just see then." Said the first boy, and in a flash, he leapt into the air toward the other, who sidestepped and evaded the attack in a very effortless motion.

"Is that the best you can do?" Said the cloaked figure. The first boy leapt into the air again, and just like the first attack, he missed.

Then he rushed towards the other boy and started to attack furiously, but the other boy was too fast, evading each and every swipe before tripping him and throwing him into the cliff wall behind him. "HA! I thought you were a lot better, considering you're Yoh Asakura's friend. I didn't know he hanged around with loser shamans like you," Said the cloaked figure, "I mean I've beaten a lot of guys, but none of them are as weak as you!"

"Argh! Just who the hell do you think you are?!" Said the boy angrily.

"I'm a soul hunter, and that's all you need to know." Said the dark figure, and then he disappeared.

"Hey! Where'd you go?" said the boy, "Come out here you coward!"

"Hehehe, can't hit what you can't see eh?" Said the hunter, his voice coming from out of nowhere. "Doesn't work the other way around though."

"Huh? What do you mean? Come out now!" said the boy.

Then he heard a voice behind him say, "Already have." Then the hunter kicked him hard in the back. "Had enough?" He said.

The boy replied, "Ha! You wish. I was just warming up."

"Oh, so you're idea of warming up is getting beaten up? Well then, be my guest." Said the hunter in a mocking tone.

"You're so arrogant! If you're so great, why the hell do you keep disappearing? Fight fair." Said the boy.

"Fine, but don't go crying to your mommy like a little girl when I finish you." Said the hunter.

"Bring it on!" Shouted the boy.

Soon enough, the hunter threw away his cloak to reveal a bandaged right arm and rushed toward the boy. He hevily assaulted him with a flurry of punches and kicks. The boy was fast enough to parry the attack, but realized it was a trick, just as he was kicked hard on the chin and was sent flying towards the cliff wall once again. But the boy was still able to stand up, despite the fact that he had hit the wall so hard.

"Still wanna get hurt huh?" Said the hunter and then kicked him straight in the stomach. The boy was already starting to cough out blood. "Now I'd really love to keep beating you up, but unfortunately, I have other stuff to do, so I'll finish this already." Said the hunter.

Then he grabbed the boy and threw him into the middle part of the cliff. Then he raised his left hand and pointed it toward the boy. Suddenly shadows started to engulf the boy's body.

"Hey! What the hell is this?!" Said the boy. The only part of him that was left exposed were his face and chest. He struggled to break free but soon realized it was useless; he was done for.

"This won't hurt a bit.", said the hunter, who was now standing in front of the boy.He pulled out an odd-looking knife and slashed at the exposed chest of the boy, and the boy shouted in pain. "Sorry, I lied.", said the hunter.

A large white orb had ripped out from where he had slashed at the boy, and it hovered over him, murmuring unintellegible words. The hunter grabbed it and thrust it into a mortuary tablet that he had pulled out of his belt.He then waved his hand and the shadows surrounding the boy dissapeared, dropping the boy's lifeless body to the ground, the claws and face markings noticeably gone.

"Mission accomplished.", said the hunter. Moments later, an old man stepped out of the shadows, wearing a long black cloak like the hunter's. "Excellent work, your skills have greatly improved.", said the old man in approval. "Really? Because I thought my kicks needed a little work.", said the hunter.

"Well, enough talk, give me the tablet.", demanded the old man.

the hunter handed over the tablet and asked, "How many more do we need?"

"Quite a few, seeing as how the others collect souls at the same rate you do.", said the old man. "After they have finished harvesting the tributes, you are to retreive the last soul we need."

"Ok, but where do I find him?", said the hunter.

"I will give you Yoh Asakura's location in time.", said the old man.

"What about his brother's soul?", said the hunter.

"I will attend to him myself.", said the old man, "Soon, Hao will be reborn."

They were to busy talking to notice a golden sphere of energy streak away into the night.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 1

Peace… For Now

Clear blue skies, and a warm gentle breeze; conditions Yoh Asakura found to be perfect for doing what he does best; chilling out. He had already set up a lounge chair in their yard and already brought out the lemons and sugar.

After making a nice cold batch of lemonade, he proceeded outside and sat down on the comfortable chair. 'I deserve a rest after a long day of work.' He thought to himself and then he took a sip of the luscious cold liquid.

"Perfect day huh?" Said Yoh.

"Quite relaxing." Came the reply from Yoh's spirit ally, a tall samurai who had long purple hair.

He floated next to Yoh who then said, "Its great having the time to relax after all those chores. Not to mention the weather, its totally perfect."

"I quite agree. I have rarely experienced a finer day than this." Said Amidamaru. "Though something seems quite odd."

"What do you mean?" Asked Yoh.

"Seems like a problem we'll have, though what it is, I'm most uncertain of."

"Oh, okay, well you should lighten up." Said Yoh as he slid back down to his chair.

"I wonder how Manta's doing?" He said. "Shopping with Anna must be torture."

Just then, he heard a voice behind him say, "You wouldn't know the half of it."

Yoh suddenly stood upright and slowly turned to see Anna Kyouyama standing there, hands on her hips, while Manta Oyamada was struggling to keep the groceries and shopping bags from falling, and it was very difficult for him, seeing as how he had a height problem.

"A-anna, I didn't expect you to be home so early." Said Yoh nervously.

"I leave you for a few hours and here I come home to see you lazing around like you've got nothing to do!" She said in a very angry tone. At that moment, Yoh started to feel scared.

"But I'm done with the…" He feebly muttered, but he didn't continue on, realizing he wouldn't be able to anyway.

"Really now? Well, have you cooked dinner yet?" She said in a stronger voice with one of her eyebrows raised.

Yoh hastily replied, "But I thought we were ordering pizza?"

Anna turned around and said, "That's before you started being lazy. Well you're not just cooking dinner, you're cleaning the whole house again, and not only that, you're sweeping the front yard too."

Then she addressed Amidamaru and told him, "You better not be encouraging him to be lazy!"

"Y-yes Anna." He said and after a few seconds, he disappeared.

"Now, go help shorty over here with the groceries." Said Anna as she motioned toward Anna, who was still trying to balance the bags, and then she finally went inside.

Yoh walked over to Manta and grabbed half of the shopping bags. Then he asked, "So, uh, how was shopping with Anna?"

Manta shot Yoh an icy glare, "It was a nightmare! I thought I would die because of all the groceries and stuff she bought!" The short boy growled and then continued, "In short it was horrible!"

"I'm sure it wasn't THAT bad," Said Yoh, "It could have been worse right?"

"Wrong!" Exclaimed Manta, "You won't believe what she made me do…"

"What?"

"Don't laugh okay?" Said Manta.

"Fine, now what is it.?"

Manta hesitated and then finally yelled it out, "She made me try out girl's clothes! Everyone in the shop was staring! You don't know how embarrassing that is!"

"Whoa, dude, that sucks." Sympathized Yoh.

When they finally got the groceries in, they went upstairs to Yoh's room before they started the grueling task of cleaning. Once inside, two ghosts appeared, Amidamaru and a black- haired blacksmith.

"Oh, hey Mosuke." Said both the boys.

"How was your day Manta?" Asked Mosuke.

"Don't ask," Answered Manta, "If you must know, it was horrible."

"Oh," Said Mosuke, "Sorry to hear."

Yoh walked over to his drawer and took out a shirt and said, "Well we better get started on cleaning, cause its gonna take all day."

"Right." Squeaked Manta.

Yoh changed his shirt and walked towards the door. Manta grabbed Yoh's shirt and pointed towards the ghosts, "Um, Yoh, what about them?"

"Right, well okay, you guys stay here for a while." Said Yoh.

"Alright then," Said the spirits.

Yoh and Manta went out of the room and grabbed the cleaning materials in the hall. "I think we should start in the kitchen." Suggested Yoh.

"Alright, whatever you say." Said Manta.

So they went down to the kitchen and started cleaning the house from there, making sure they leave everything spotless for Anna.

After a few painstaking hours, they were done. Yoh and Manta agreed that they should start with the yard first before cooking dinner, and so they took out some of the brooms and went to the yard.

As they were sweeping, Yoh sighed, wiped some of his sweat and said, "I wish Horohoro, Ren and Ryu were here. At least the cleaning wouldn't be as miserable."

"Yeah," Agreed Manta, "I'm sure they're having a lot of fun right about now."

"Well with Horohoro competing in snowboarding competitions, Ryu riding his bike all over the country, and Ren back in China, I'm just as sure as you are." Said Yoh.

"I wish they could have taken us with them or something." Said Manta, "What I wouldn't give for a nice fun day."

"Yeah," Said Yoh. "And the Shaman tournament wasn't as bad either."

And then he started remembering hat happened two years ago, from his fight with Silva, the graveyard duel against Faust, his battleagainst Tao Ren, the Tao Mansion, their trip to America to search for Patvh Village, the Shaman fights, all the way up to the eventual defeat of his brother, Hao Asakura.

"Haha, I'm hoping the star of destiny flies by right now." Said Manta.

"I hope so to." Said Yoh as he stared at the sky, even seeing a star pass by, but realized it was only his imagination.

"Have you heard from Lyserg yet?" Asked Manta.

"No, he hasn't been contacting me recently, "Said Yoh, "Maybe he's back in London."

"Maybe." Said Manta.

Behind them another voice came. It shouted, "Do I hear you talking? Huh?" It was Anna, and no way did she look happy.

"No." Said Yoh.

'We weren't talking." Said Manta.

"Yeah." Said Yoh, and both of them nodded.

"I better not hear you two talking." Warned Anna, "And hurry up, dinner's in an hour and you still have to cook it."

"Yes Anna." Chorused both Yoh and Manta.

As Anna went back in, Yoh and Manta quietly and very hurriedly swept all the dust and dirt they could see and started brushing them outside the gate.

When they finally finished, Manta started back in while Yoh looked up at the sky again.

"Yoh, aren't you coming?" Said Manta.

"Yeah, alright, you go ahead, I'll catch up." Said Yoh.

"Oh, okay, but hurry up, Anna's gonna kill us if we don't get dinner done already." Said Manta as he walked towards the house.

After a few moments, he realized he wouldn't see anything and started to walk back in.

But before he got in the gate, he heard someone say, "Please, you've got to help me..." And then he heard a thud.


	3. Old Friends and New Adventures

Chapter 2

Old Friends and New Adventures

Yoh Asakura turned around and saw the source of the plea for help. A boy, about his age, lying on the street, badly hurt and bruised all over.

"Anna! Manta! Get out here quick!" shouted Yoh, and within moments, Anna and Manta rushed out to see why their friend was calling them.

When Anna saw the boy, she said, "Not Again."

"Manta, help me get him inside!" Shouted Yoh.

And then manta grabbed the boy's legs while Yoh carried him by the arms. They proceeded to the living room and put him down on the floor.

"Hey Yoh," said Manta, "He looks kinda like you.

When Yoh looked closer, he began to see that Manta was right. From the brown hair to the shape of the face, they were almost identical.

"Yeah your right," Said Yoh, "Weird."

Anna then interrupted by saying, "Well he's not gonna stay here too long."

"Why?" Asked Yoh. "Were supposed to help him."

"Unless he's going to work around the house, he can't stay. Food and shelter isn't free you know." Replied Anna.

"Fine." Muttered Yoh. "have it your way."

"Good, cause that's how its suppose to be." Said Anna in a matter- of- fact tone.

'Let's just wait for him to wake up, then see what he thinks about it." Suggested Manta.

Yoh agreed abd they went back to what they were doing before; Yoh and Manta with the cooking and Anna watching T.V.

Sure enough, the stranger was awake after an hour or so. When they say that the boy started to stir, Yoh, Manta and Anna went over to feed him some of the leftovers.

And then he started to talk. He said, "Where am I?"

'You're at the Asakura residence." Said Yoh.

"Oh, I'm here then huh?" Questioned the boy.

"Yeah. So who are you anyway?" Asked Yoh.

"I'm Yoshiro kiukonji." Answered the boy feebly.

"How'd you get here anyway?" Said Manta.

"I escaped from this old dude and his gang of shamans up in Kyoto. They were talking about the patch Village, and two dudes named Hao and Yoh Asakura. Then they said they'd come and get that Yoh guy. That's how I found my way here after they beat me up. Come to think of it, where is this Yoh dude? You did say this was the Asakura residence right?" Remembered Yoshiro all of a sudden.

"I'm the guy you're looking for." Said Yoh. "So who were these guys that took you and what did they want with me?"

"Dunno, they all wore these freaky black cloaks, they looked totally weird." Babbled Yoshiro. "And they didn't say much about you, just that they needed you for something."

"What about Hao Asakura? You mentioned him." Asked Yoh.

"Dunno too. They wanted him for something as well." Was Yoshiro's reply.

"Ok, well that isn't good. If Hao's involved somehow, we'd better do something." Said Yoh, looking at Anna and Manta intently.

"So who is this Hao?" Brother of yours?" Said Yoshiro, talking to Yoh again.

"Yeah, you could say that…" Said Yoh.

"Oh okay then." Said Yoshiro, and he sat up and asked, "You guys got anymore grub? Cause I've been starving like hell all week."

"If you want to eat, you gotta cook for us, do the dishes, and sweep the house." Said Anna Immediately.

"Sure, guess that's fair." Answered Yoshiro.

"Hmph, you're not a whiner when it comes to work, unlike someone here." Said Anna as she looked at Yoh.

Then Yoh said, "So you're a Shaman aren't you Yoshiro?"

"Yeah," Replied Yoshiro happily, "And I'm pretty good too."

"Okay, so uh, where's your spirit ally?" Questioned Yoh.

"Oh yeah." Recalled Yoshiro. He called out, "Aiyasu!"

Suddenly, a samurai with long white hair and a beard appeared by his side.

"Meet Aiyasu." Smiled Yoshiro.

"Another Samurai! That's awesome!" Marveled Manta.

"Cool," Was Yoh's reaction, "You gotta meet my spirit ally then." And then he called out, "Amidamaru, get down here, there's someone I want you to meet!"

At those words, Amidamaru was downstairs already, floating beside Yoh. At the sight of the other samurai, he exclaimed ,"Master Aiyasu!"

"Ah, Amidamaru, a pleasure to see you again," Said Aiyasu, "It has been too long."

"You guys know each other?" Said Yoh.

"Yes," Answered Amidamaru, "He was an army general during my time. He was the most honorable of warriors."

"Always the one to exaggerate Amidamaru." Laughed Aiyasu.

"It's great that you guys know each other." Said Yoh.

He turned to Yoshiro and said, "So you've got a sword? I mean that's where you oversoul him right?"

"Oh damn it, it broke on the way here when I tripped off a bunch of rocks." Said Yoshiro as he recalled his trip. He lifted the bay's flap and showed them a hilt and broken sword. "My family called it the 'Hakumei Ken'.

"You done talking already? Cause a lot of chores still need to be done." Interjected Anna.

"Yeah we are," Siad Yoh. He then offered to lend Yoshiro one of the swords in their house.

"You can borrow one of these." Said Yoh as he opened the sword cabinet nearby, "While we try to get your sword repaired."

'Wow, thanks dude!" Shouted Yoshiro with delight.

"C'mon Manta, I'll help you out with the chores." Said Yoh.

And so they started to clean up everything else they missed in the house. Then Yoshiro help cook the dinner to show his gratitude.

Later that night, Anna and Yoh had a talk when everyone was asleep.

"We have to call the others." Said Anna.

"Right." Said Yoh. "I'm sure were going to need them.

Then Anna said, "I'll send out messengers to call them, all of them, even Faust, Choco and Lyserg."

Anna took out her beads and chanted. 6 Spirits appeared and she whispered to each of them. The spirits nodded and disappeared.

"They should return in a day or two." Said Anna as she turned to face Yoh, "Now go and get some sleep."

"Thanks." Answered Yoh.

The following day, the spirits did return. They said that Horohoro, Ryu and Faust were on their way. Lyserg's messenger said he would think about it.

To their great surprise, a familiar yellow spirit accompanied Choco's messenger. As soon as the spirits materialized, they found he Jaguar, Mic, howling along side the messenger.

'Hey Its Mic!" Exclaimed Manta.

"Why is he here?" Asked Yoh.

"Let's find out." Said Anna and she started talking to Mic.

"Well, what'd he say?" Said Yoh.

"Mic says a cloaked figure took Choco's soul. Then an old guy appeared and they were talking about you… and Hao." Replied Anna. "That was a week or so ago."

"That's gotta be the guys Yoshiro mentioned!" Said Yoh," Aren't they?" He asked as he faced Yoshiro.

"Then we have to rescue Choco." Said Yoh, "Mic, you'll have to stay with us."

The spirit purred and nodded.

"Now we wait for Ren's messenger." Said Anna.

Moments later, the spirit Anna had instructed to contact ren appeared. It said that Ren was at their mansion and that they should go fetch him if they needed him.

"That's weird." Said Yoh.

"Why?" Asked Amidamaru, who had just appeared with Aiyasu and Moruke.

"Its just that Ren told me that they wouldn't be back for another year." Said Yoh.

"Maybe they cam back early." Suggested Manta.

"Yeah Maybe," Said Yoh, "But it still doesn't feel right."

Two days later, they arrived. Yoh Manta and Yoshiro were cleaning up the house when they heard the distinct sound of a motorcycle stopping at their gate.

Yoh and Manta knew who that could be in an instant and they immediately ran out, with Yoshiro behind them.

"Ryu!" Shouted Yoh and Manta together.

And through the gate entered Ryunosuke Umemiya, who were a black leather jacket and aviator sunglasses.

"Hello Yoh." Said Ryu, "I hope you don't mind, but I brought a friend with me." 

And behind him was Horoken Usui, who had a blue snowboarding jacket on.

"Hey guys!" Said Horohoro.

"Horo!" Said Yoh.

"I found him walking on the road a mile back." Said Ryu.

"Yeah, lucky he found me, I was dead tired." Said Horohoro, then he noticed the boy standing behind Yoh and Manta.

Horo asked, "Who's the kid?"

"Oh, let me introduce you," Said Yoh. "Guys, meet Yoshiro."

"Hey." Said Yoshiro.

"Nice to meet you." Said Horo and Ryu.

"We found him lying outside our gate," Said Yoh. "Like someone here."

"Haha, nice." Said Horo.

It was only later that day that another guest arrived. A knock on the gate told Yoh that there was someone outside. When Yoh opened it, he was greeted by the familiar face of Faust VIII, suitcase in hand. He wore a white trench coat, white hat and orange scarf.

"Nice to see you again Yoh." Said Faust.

"Same here," Said Yoh. And then he led him inside to join the others.

"Guys! Faust is here!" Shouted Yoh to his friends.

"Good evening." Said Faust as he entered the door.

"Hey Faust! You made it!" Squeaked Manta.

"Faust, meet my new friend." Said Yoh as he introduced him to Yoshiro.

That night, they decided to eat dinner out at the nearby burger joint. Yoh, Ryu, Horo and Manta ordered a whole bunch of burgers. Not surprisingly, Faust ordered a soda.

"It's great to see you guys again!" Said Yoh happily.

"Yeah," Agreed Horo, and he and Yoh started recounting all their adventures during the Shaman Tournament.

"You gusy must've had a lot of fun." Said Yoshiro enviously. "My team split up after the tournament, haven't seen 'em since."

"Too bad." Said Yoh.

Manta then said, 'guys, shouldn't we go home" We shouldn't leave Anna for so long."

"You're right," Said Yoh. "Let's order her a burger!"

"Good idea." Said Ryu.

After picking up a double cheeseburger, they started to walk home. Ryu hummed a tune he learned during his trips as they went along.

Just as they reached the gate, a loud sound empted from the kitchen.

"Anna!" Shouted Yoh, who reacted first, and then ran through the gate, the others hurriedly followed.

When he reached the kitchen, a brooding figure in a long black cloak held Anna, unconscious in his arms. There were also tow other figures beside him.

"Asakura I presume." Said the first of the cloaked people.

"Let her go!" Commanded Yoh. "Amidamaru!" He shouted. At once, the samurai appeared. The others also summoned their spirit allies.

"You will have her when we choose to return her." Said the second.

"Give her back now!" Shouted Yoh angrily.

"In time," Said the third, "Goodbye."

"No!" Screamed Yoh and the three disappeared.

"Damn!" He shouted Yoh as he punched the wall hard.

"We'll get them," Said Yoshiro. "I know where they are."

"Yoh!" Cried Manta loudly from behind all of them.

As they turned around, they saw the second cloaked figure pick up Manta and disappear.

"Manta!" Shouted all of them at once.

"Argh! That does it!" Said Yoh. "We'll rescue them right now!"

"Ok!" Said Horo and Ryu.

'Sure." Nodded Faust.

"We'll make them pay." Reassured Yoshiro as he put a hand on Yoh's shoulder.

Each of them went in different directions to gather their things. Yoh went upstairs, into his room and packed a bag. He grabbed a sword in one of the stands in the corner, the Harusame, and a sword-like relic, the Futso no Mitama. He then put on the pants he used during the Tournament and the black vest over a short sleeved cotton shirt, he left it unzipped.

When they reassembled in the living room, Yoh said, "Yoshiro will lead us to their place and we rescue them."

"Then we find out what they're up to and stop them," He continued.

'Right." Said the others.

"But before that," Yoh said, "We have to stop by Ren's place."

Then he looked out side and said, "Tao Mansion, here we come."


End file.
